Anyone who has not seen the 1998 German film “Run Lola Run” owes it to themselves to obtain a copy of it in whatever medium you prefer and screen it posthaste. Yes, it is subtitled-thankfully no one has yet butchered it by trying to dub it in English-but don’t let that deter you; there isn’t a whole lot of dialog, because the whole movie is a frenetic 90 minute long action sequence. It is a completely original film, unlike anything I’ve ever seen: a tense roller coaster ride that raises existential questions about fate while leaving you breathless. Quite an accomplishment: a movie as thrilling as a car race that isn’t about cars!
Such originality can also be said to apply to the Lola GT Mk.6. Designed and built in England in 1963 by Eric Broadly and fitted with an American Ford small-block V8, it is widely credited as the car that gave conceptual birth to the Ford GT-40, and yet only 3 copies of the real Mk.6 were ever built. Fortunately all 3 have survived to this day, but It is a bit ironic that by adding this red copy to my fleet, I now have one more of them on my HO scale track than exist in 1:1.
I got a pretty good deal on this car, considering that it is clearly a well cared for low-mileage original. Not only is the body clean and in excellent condition, and it came on a good-running original T-jet chassis, but it is also the early version of the body with the original smaller rear wheel openings, making this my second such copy. I think it is both better looking and more realistic than the more commonly found later version with the oversized wheel wells, which were added later to accommodate the disproportional “Tuff Ones” wheels. And what’s really amazing is that, unlike most Lola bodies I see, the lower third of the right A-pillar is not missing!
As planned, I decided to fit this one with the cool Firestone Goldline tires, an iconic ‘60’s look for an iconic ‘60’s car. This of course required the use of the stock T-jet wheels, and here I did just use the standard chrome ones, as they look pretty good with the red body. And since it has those stock wheels and tires, it performs excellently, a good thing because the brand new chassis its mounted on is a smooth and fast runner!
Each of my 4 Lolas has its own handling characteristics and its own strengths and weaknesses-much like the 3 real ones-but in terms of raw speed, this one is the fastest! The real car’s backstory is fascinating, but here in 2021 the history is the rubber, and the road it meets is Drag City! So buckle up for a fast ride: it’s time to hit the track and RUN LOLA, RUN!!!
